Alder Hey Children’s Charity and DaDa Disability and Deaf Arts have joined forces to launch an animation developed by young artists to improve their health and wellbeing. The Alder Experiences project has been supporting young patients over the last three years to create an animation film based on a day in the life at Alder Hey, and this week the final cut was launched with a premiere at the hospital.

The project, commissioned by disability arts charity DaDa working with Alder Hey offered children receiving care at the hospital opportunity to work with disabled-led Liverpool film company, Twin Vision, to create an animated film. The animation documented realistic features of a child’s experience of visiting the hospital, along with elements of fantasy to allow the young animators an opportunity to get creative.

Young people worked with the animation company both one on one and in groups to learn different animation techniques and to create characters to feature in the final edit. On the day of the premiere we were also joined by Twin Vision who held a animation workshop alongside the film, giving children, young people, families and staff a glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes of an animated film.

The film is aimed at supporting the mental health of children and young people at Alder Hey, giving opportunities to express their creativity and grow their confidence by taking on different roles in the production of the film.

Vicky Charnock, Arts for Health Manager at Alder Hey, said:

“We are delighted to launch our new animation ‘Alder Hey Experiences’ with Dada, our long-standing creative partners. The project brings together the work of our young animators, who worked with Twin Vision over a period of many months, to create an exciting new animation which captures first-hand the experiences and imagination of long-term patients at Alder Hey.  The animation showcases their talents, creativity, and determination not to be defined by their illness or condition. We hope other patients visiting Alder Hey, perhaps for the first time, will really enjoy the animation. We are grateful to both Dada and Twin Vision for making this project possible.”

Rachel Rogers, Executive Producer at DaDa, said:

“We are incredibly proud of our ongoing partnership with Alder Hey and the work we have done together to bring high quality arts practice to children and young people to support mental health and wellbeing for children and families in the hospital. This project with Twin Vision was especially exciting as it brought together individuals from across the hospital wards and outpatient services to work collectively, introducing them to new creative techniques. Working with Twin Vision is always a joy, their team are so skilled at supporting young artists and building their confidence to become more ambitious in their work and it really shows in the finished film. The DaDa team are looking forward to continuing the partnership with Alder Hey.”